New paths
by Xandra76
Summary: Gibbs meets Sam Carter. But is she interested in him on a professional or personal level? Can they even have a relationship or is there too much baggage? A common case also gets in the way...
1. Chapter 1

**Note**** 1**: NCIS and Stargate SG-1 are two of my favorite shows, and I always loved to read crossovers, so I just had to give this a shot. As you will notice, the time-lines don't match; by the time NCIS started SG1 was around season 8, I think, and that doesn't work for me, so I guess this is slightly AU. Except for the time-line I'll try to stay in canon, though. If you don't know at least the main characteres from either of the shows it's gonna be a bit difficult…

**Note 2**: I am most definitely a Sam/Jack shipper, but it doesn't seem realistic that any of them stayed celibate for years, and I don't see Sam as the 'one night stand' type. The fic is the result of that "revelation".

**Disclaimer****:** NCIS and Stargate SG-1 are not mine, wish they were…

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs raised his head from the tangle of pillows and sheets, eyes sweeping over the sleeping form lying next to him. With only the top of a blond head and a long shapely leg visible, face scrunched up in the pillow, the woman still looked gorgeous. He was one lucky bastard, he thought, or was he?

Chapter 1

They met at some official crappy shindig at the Pentagon some months ago, both of them looking like they would rather scrub toilets in Alaska then be there. He had his whole team in tow and of course it was DiNozzo who inadvertently started the conversation with one of his practiced flirting lines. It was met with an indulgent half-smile and an icy look, but the Air Force major stayed and chatted with them for a while, not offended but also not impressed by Tony's attempts. She was used to men trying pick-up lines on her, Gibbs thought, especially in situations like this one. Lots of shiny stars, military brass from all branches, politician types with big bellies and even bigger egos, wives with expensive dresses and way too much jewelry. Gibbs had to admit the woman looked really good in her Air Force blues. He scanned the medals on her chest and had the sudden urge to stand at attention. His eyes snapped back to her face, searching for an answer. She had to be some kind of special forces, he thought, there was no way she earned the Air Medal, for instance, doing some radar space stuff… whatever she said earlier. She was listening to his team's antics, clearly amused but never actually relaxed. Every few seconds her eyes scanned the room, unconsciously assessing the threat. Or maybe planning an escape route, Gibbs thought, snickering internally, he could definitely go for that.

He was snapped out of his mussing when she turned towards him, a knowing smile gracing her lips. "Having fun, Special Agent Gibbs?"

"Oh yeah, I just love these… friendly gatherings" he deliberately ignored the fact that he was caught studying her. To her credit, she didn't rub it in.

"Can I get you anything, Major?" he gestured towards the well-stocked bar in the corner.

"Coffee would be nice, I'm afraid I'm too beat for anything else. And it's Sam"

"Jethro. One coffee coming up"

When he came back she was engaged in conversations with various important people, some of which Gibbs recognized, some he didn't, so he decided to hang back for a while. There was the Air Force Chief of Staff talking to her and, gee, what do you know, the Secretary of the Navy. _Who is she?_ Gibbs thought, more than puzzled. Then there was this older, bald major general and another Air Force major with whom she appeared at ease.

Her eyes searched the room and zeroed in on him. He couldn't help the very male pride at the looks he was receiving from some of the brass when she took the coffee from his hand and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "You look like the type to rescue a damsel in distress. How about we go get some real coffee?"

Well, Gibbs had to admit he was more then ready to leave this place, and the prospect of learning more about the mysterious Major Samantha Carter was rather appealing.

"See you tomorrow" he threw over his shoulder towards his gaping team, not before Tony's not really whispered "Fraternizing with the Air Force, boss?". He glared at the younger agent but relaxed as Sam only laughed and waved them good-bye.

They walked for a while and stopped at a small café. She was smart and pleasant and easy to talk to, but he didn't know much more about her then a couple of hours ago, Gibbs thought.

"So, not a big fan of parties, are you?" he tried to restart the somewhat stalling conversation.

"Well, not this kind, anyway. The rest of my team couldn't make it, so I was the lucky one chosen to accompany General Hammond"

"He's your CO?"

"Yeah, the base CO, not the team's"

"Kinda figured that much. Cheyenne Mountain, huh?"

She laughed. "Hard to shake those investigator instincts isn't it, Special Agent Gibbs?"

He managed to look bashful. "Don't worry, I'm way too familiar with the whole 'Need-to-know' idea. So, if you don't mind my asking, why me?"

She smiled again. "Give yourself some credit Jethro, you can be quite charming…"

"_Is she flirting with me?"_ Gibbs thought, rather surprised.

"And, to be honest, I wanted to meet you" she continued.

"You did?" This time he was really surprised.

"See, a while back we had a … situation which required some investigating. You were among the very few considered for the job- apparently there's a Homeland Security Deputy Director who thinks very highly of you"

"Director Morrow"

She nodded. "We managed the situation without any external help in the end, but let's say I was… intrigued. And other situations can always occur"

"_So she's not flirting, she's asses__sing me"_ Gibbs thought, oddly disappointed.

"I have no plans to change my status at NCIS, Major"

She shook her head. "This is not a job interview, that wouldn't be my call anyway". Somehow he doubted that. "I really just wanted to meet you. As I said, I was curious"

"And you say _I_ can't shake the investigator instincts…"

"I meant more of a …personal curiosity"

It was his turn to smile. "So, disappointed?"

"Not in the very least Jethro, in fact…" Her cell phone chose that very moment to start ringing.

"Hey Daniel… yeah, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be? Oh, I'm not in my room yet… You're checking up on me, Daniel? Uh…okay. Hi Sir. No… Washington is not _that_ bad, you know. Why…. Oh, I see… No, no problem, I kind of expected that. They didn't… then it's fine, I'll take care of it... I did _not_ get in any trouble sir! I'm fine, really. Yeah. Thanks, you too sir"

Gibbs let her finish before raising his eyebrows questioningly. "Your team?" She nodded. "They seem to be quite…protective of you"

"They are. But then, so is yours, apparently"

He frowned, confused. "What does my team have to do with this?"

"Well, somebody was just now doing a background check on me from an NCIS server. To their credit, and luck, they didn't try to get into the … less then visible parts"

Gibbs laughed, unashamed. "Yeah, they know better than to do that without a get-out-of-jail free card. Didn't know to avoid your alert system, though" he added, ruefully. Searching for his phone, he pressed a number on the speed-dial. "McGee" he barked "stop what you're doing. I just do, McGee. We'll talk about that in the morning"

"Well, that's gonna add to the 'Can't hide anything from Gibbs' legend…"

He paused for a few moments. "I figured you people must have a file on me, but just how in-depth is it?"

She lowered her eyes. _"Yeah, that's enough of an answer…"_ Gibbs thought, not enjoying the feeling of being in the disadvantage.

"My team is unaware of some … aspects concerning my personal life. I'd appreciate it if it stayed that way"

She just nodded, no clarification needed.

They walked to her hotel, the night warm and pleasant, the silence more comfortable than Gibbs expected.

"So, how long are you gonna be in town?"

"I have a presentation at the Pentagon in the afternoon, so probably till tomorrow evening"

"Think you could delay that flight and maybe have a drink with me or… more coffee?"

She gave him a full smile. "Yeah, I could probably do that. Call you when I'm done with the presentation, then?"

He leaned very close to her, just short of touching, enjoying the sparkle of electricity between them and the subsequent reaction of his body "You do that Samantha"

She shivered slightly and drew in a sharp breath, surprised at the powerful surge of attraction. It was almost like… No, she absolutely didn't want to go there and start seeing the similarities.

Her voice was low and shaky when she spoke. "Good night Jethro, see you tomorrow…" She fought the urge to grab him and slam him against the hotel wall, instead turning and hurrying inside.

Gibbs shook his head, trying to clear his mind. This was one dangerous woman, and he didn't mean professionally.

**Chapter note:** Well, except for the obvious, I don't know where this is going, I just want to play with them. So, if you have any suggestions I can try to go in that direction. No promises though.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note****:** Thanks everyone for the reviews! I know this is not an obvious pairing, but then they are not ordinary people either…

Plus, some hints in this chapter might satisfy some shippers (and maybe annoy others, but…)

The rating changed for this one!

And, finally, I'm still not totally sure where this is going…

Chapter 2

Gibbs wasn't much into analyzing relationships, he did enough of that in his line of work. However, he didn't like not being able to figure somebody out, especially if it was somebody he cared about. Which brought him to the current situation, alone in a bar in Colorado Springs for the last couple of hours, starring into his still unfinished glass of bourbon. _Sam_.

The next morning after the Pentagon party he refused to let his well-meaning and curious as hell team do a more in-depth search on one Major Samantha Carter. She was not part of an investigation and he didn't believe in using government resources just to satisfy a curiosity. When she showed up in the squad-room that evening to pick him up DiNozzo and McGee both reacted like he expected them to – Tony teased until he got a Gibbs-patented slap on the head and McGee pretended he wasn't looking, when in fact he was absorbing every detail. Ziva, on the other hand, acted quite differently from the friendliness she showed the previous evening. She was standing too straight, breasts pushed forward, moving like she was stalking a prey. She acted almost… territorial. _"She smelled another alpha female"_ Gibbs thought. As a consequence, her chosen topic of conversation didn't surprise him much.

"So, Major, what kind of fighting do they teach you in the Air Force?"

If Sam was surprised, she didn't show it. "That depends, both hand-to-hand and various weapons. Why?"

"Oh, I was thinking maybe we could train together sometime; I could show you a few techniques I learned at Mossad"

Tony gaped and then grinned widely "Cat fight". Gibbs just growled "Ziva…"

"I'd love that, except I'm due back in Colorado by tomorrow. Maybe another time, Officer David?" Sam took it in stride, a corner of her mouth twitching suspiciously.

She did bring the exchange up later, though. "I haven't been challenged to a duel for a while now. Is she… I mean, is there anything…"

Gibbs didn't even pretend he didn't understand the question. "She's on my team, I'm her boss. That's all there is"

"Yeah, I know…" Sam's reply was so quiet Gibbs almost didn't hear it. He couldn't however miss the shadow that passed over her face and the way her eyes suddenly turned downwards. He knew she wasn't in any relationship, she said that much the night before and he believed her. And if there was someone she had feelings for but couldn't be with… well, who was he to judge? Gibbs was painfully aware that he himself was in a similar situation. Shannon was and will always remain the love of his life, and part of his heart will always remain unavailable. And then there was Ziva... For the most part he could just ignore _things_, and he trusted himself enough to know his judgment and decisions on the job weren't influenced. For the most part.

All things considered, Gibbs wasn't a monk and he liked women. And this one... She was beautiful, smart, independent, understood the risks and requirements of his job and didn't expect a commitment. And apparently she liked him. He didn't know her well enough yet, but the fact that he was really interested in getting to know her said a lot. The obvious attraction, chemistry between them was an added bonus.

What he didn't expect were the powerful feelings flooding him the first time they slept together. The tenderness, the emotion, the fierce need to protect her still baffled him. Her tough and independent military exterior only made him notice the well-hidden vulnerability in those big baby-blue eyes more. So after a few hours and more than one round he was completely exhausted, both physically and mentally, but warm and cozy and thoroughly satisfied. She was passionate and demanding and knew what she wanted but gave back just as much. He could hardly form any words as he collapsed sideways on the bed. „You'll be the death of me woman... I'm getting to old for this"

She giggled and rolled her eyes at him „I haven't noticed. You're complaining Jethro?"

„Hell no!" He fell asleep with a huge smile on his face.

They kept in touch over the next few weeks, and if his team noticed he started checking his e-mail more regularly they didn't say anything. He was surprised to realize he was looking forward to hearing from her and worried when she became unavailable for extended periods of time. Not that he would ever admit to that.

She never talked much about her job and never complained much, at least not about anything important. She did talk about her teammates though, even if only in vague terms, and the closeness between them was obvious. So when she called one late night to tell him Daniel died he hopped on the first plane to Colorado.

Gibbs tried to prepare himself for all kinds of possible reactions, everybody dealt with grief their own way. He was still unprepared for the hurricane that hit him the moment he stepped inside. She all but slammed him into a wall and plastered herself to him, tongue deep in his mouth and hands all over.

„Sam..."

„Shh...Shut up Jethro and just kiss me"

His body reacted with lightening speed to her unusual aggression, clouding his judgment and clarity. Her hands went to the back of his neck, holding him in place as she was kissing him fiercely, not giving him time to think. It only took seconds for him to start kissing back, tongues dueling for dominance. She pulled back when they couldn't breathe, eyes dark and wild, both panting. He didn't even realize when she managed to take their shirts off until she pressed her naked breasts to his chest, hips grinding hard against him. He growled deep in his throat as he turned them around so her back was now against the wall. Gibbs needed to regain some control here, or this would be over before it started. He pinned her still moving hips with his body and proceeded to trail slow kisses over her neck and chest, kissing the sensitive skin behind her ear then going lower, nipping at her collarbone and stopping just before he reached her breasts. „Bedroom, Sam"

She dragged him to the bed and wasted no time in removing his pants and boxers in one move before losing her own jeans just as fast. She was on top of him on the bed in seconds, in a tackle move that would have amazed him if he would still have the ability to think. Her hips were once again grinding against his erection, driving him crazy with need. Somewhere in his foggy mind something was still bothering him though. He was all for rough sex on occasion, but her desperation was... unnatural. He made another attempt at regaining control and flipped them so he was on top. He trailed his hand over her breasts, lightly caressing her before moving lower, over her belly and to her pussy, wanting to at least make sure she was ready for this. She batted his hand away and made a move to grab his dick, stroking him hard, almost painfully, before bringing him to her core. He pulled back a little. „Sam, Sam, slow down a bit, there's no hurry..."

She raised her hips in an attempt to not lose contact, nails digging into his skin.

„I want you inside me now, damn it!" she almost yelled. „Please Jethro, please, I need you now"

Gibbs knew sex was sometimes a normal reaction after facing death, he's been there enough times himself. Still, something felt off; she said on the phone Daniel died after being exposed to some kind of a disease and that nobody was responsible, the exposure happened as he was trying to help others. But this was more then just grief, this was anger, and Gibbs had the feeling he was missing something.

But then she grabbed him again, begging with those huge dark blue eyes while she wrapped her legs tight around his hips and he cracked; he knew this was wrong but didn't find the strength to deny her the emotional release. He pushed forward and entered her all the way in one swift move, stopping as he was fully inside. Her tightness and the gasp that escaped her lips confirmed what he suspected, she was not prepared and this had to be painful for her. But then that was probably what she wanted, Gibbs thought, he was also familiar with the need to replace emotional pain with a physical one. He still hated being the instrument of said pain. Staying still was killing him, but he was trying to give her some time to adjust. She raised her hips, however, jerking against him, forcing him to start moving. He tried to do it slowly, jaws clenched with the effort to control himself and not hurt her more.

„Come on, harder, fuck me harder!" she squeezed his ass, pulling him in impossibly deeper, writhing against him. His pace increased, pushing himself all the way in on every stroke, his control slipping dangerously.

„Harder damn it, harder!" her eyes were glazed over and half closed and she seemed lost, somehow remote.

He stopped. It was one of the hardest things he had to do, but he pulled all the way out and kept her pinned beneath him on the bed. Her eyes snapped open, angry and wild, hips still jerking. „What the hell... What are you doing?"

„What is it, Sam? What's the matter with you? Talk to me"

She tried to hit him or to flip him over, but he expected that much and kept her in place. „I don't want to talk, I want you to fuck me! Screw you Jethro, come on!"

He didn't budge, leaning close to her ear. „Please Sam, let me help you" he whispered and kissed her temple. She struggled for a few more seconds before she went limp. He raised his head and freed her hands, settling beside her but still holding her close. Tears were streaming down her temples and cheeks but she wasn't making any sounds. She kept her face buried in his neck for a few minutes before she spoke.

„I loved him, Daniel, he was like a brother to me. We've been through so much together, all of us. And now I can't even be allowed to grieve for him? I mean... we're, were, more like family... And he refuses to react, it's like he doesn't give a damn! He requested we remain on active duty. 'I don't wanna hear it Carter' he said 'this is the job, we lose people all the time. 'He's gone, we have work to do' But this is not people, this is Daniel! We've been teammates, _friends_, for five years! That doesn't mean _anything_ to him?"

„Who's _he_?"

„Colonel O'Neill, my CO"

'_Oh._ ' „You really think he doesn't care?"

„I don't know what to think anymore! Always the tough colonel, always the fearless leader. Why can't he just show he misses Daniel too?"

„Look, Sam, I don't know this guy. But I figure it's because he can't afford to let his control slip. Because he might not get it back in time, and once you do that you put everyone's lives in danger. I also don't know what you do in that mountain, but I imagine it's important"

She didn't say anything for a while. „So what, he can never just let go, not even with us?"

„Especially with you, Sam. With the team he's responsible for. People have their own way of coping, and work is not the worst way"

„_Am I really defending this guy here?"_ Gibbs thought. But the truth was he understood where the other man came from, he understood how a team leader, especially one involved in whatever crap these guys were doing couldn't just open up to his team with what he was feeling.

She smiled through her tears a while later. „I've never heard you talk so much, Jethro"

„Yeah, well, it was well worth it"

She moved and straddled him again. „Well, it will be well worth it soon..."

Sam was called back to the base a few hours later and Gibbs still had some time to kill before his flight, which brought him to his bourbon and mussing. Her anger and hurt at her CO's reaction made him think there was something more there. He was however aware of the Air Force regulations concerning fraternizing - hence her understanding of his non-relationship with Ziva. He snorted. They were quite a pair, weren't they? But he really cared about Sam, maybe even loved her in a way, and he knew the feeling was reciprocated. She was hard to figure out, though – she could complain about her CO's emotional unavailability but she wasn't exactly open herself. Whatever she was working in influenced her more then she realized, he thought. But, oddly enough, the amazingly good sex and all, he felt they were more friends then lovers. And that was fine with him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - NCIS

"Hey, Probie, get me a picture of the Boss-man! On the double!"

"What, Tony, you wanna put him as your desktop image?"

"Yeah, right. Oh come on, have you seen this site? You upload your photo and it makes you look like you're living in the '50s or '60s and so on, you know, really… vintage. Real fun!"

"So it makes you look…old?" Ziva was confused again. Although, Tony suspected, she was just toying with him sometimes.

"No, Zee-vah, you stay the same age, just look … old-fashioned. On second thought, I don't need to _make_ Gibbs old-fashioned… "

"Grab your gear!" Gibbs was pleased to see the speed with which his three agents geared up, DiNozzo of course fumbling to close that stupid make-over site.

"What do we have boss?"

"Dead marine, hit and run, Henry Park. You'll be next if I see myself as a hippie, DiNozzo" he threw over his shoulder as he entered the elevator.

Things looked easy for a change, Tony thought, as they were almost finished processing the crime scene. The ride there was short, much to everyone's satisfaction, evidence in plain sight, plus there were three witnesses who saw the car hitting Lieutenant Kent as he crossed the street. They even had a partial number. So this was going to be a piece of cake, right?

Back in the squad-room everything still seemed easy.

"Ziva…"

"I'll put a BOLO on the car, check with the LEOs"

"DiNozzo…"

"Check his records, see where he was stationed, talk to his CO"

"McGee…"

"Yeah…, boss, we've got a problem here…". That was when things started to be less easy.

"What, McGee?"

"I was checking the lieutenant's cell phone and noticed there were two cards inside. One is what you would expect to find, except there's only a single number he called; no address book, no other calls. The problem is the second card – it's a memory card containing some photos…" he clicked to put the images on the plasma.

There were a number of photos of some reports, Air Force logo, big red 'Classified' stamp on each of them.

Not so easy case then. "Oh crap…"

"Boss, Lieutenant Kent was stationed at Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, been there for a year and a half… not much about what he was actually doing at an Air Force base…"

Ziva interrupted "He was getting combat pay though"

"Hey boss, isn't Major Samantha Carter also stationed at Cheyenne Mountain?" Tony grinned widely.

Gibbs just growled. This was not something he wanted to deal with.

"McGee, what's in those reports?"

"You want me to read them boss? They _are_ classified material…"

"They're already up on the plasma McGee, might as well see what this is all about before someone pulls the plug"

They all read in silence for several minutes. Gibbs was, of course, the first to snap.

"What the hell is this? Some sort of a code? What is 'P3X-535' and an 'SG team' and who the hell are the 'Goa'uld' and 'Jaffa' ?"

"I don't know boss, but this is pretty big stuff. What they're describing here is heavy combat, and our victim is mentioned several times…"

"I can see that DiNozzo" Gibbs felt a headache coming. "It's signed by a Major Castleman, SG-5. Show me the next one too"

Scrolling directly to the end of the second report only made things a lot worse.

"This is signed by a Colonel J. O'Neill, SG-1. What is that, Gibbs?" Ziva piped in.

"How am I supposed to know that, Ziva?" he snapped, before feeling somehow guilty. He might as well tell them, they were gonna find out anyway. "I do know he's Sam's CO"

"Oh…"

"Yeah… " They read the laconic report faster than the last one. _"Not a big fan of paper-work, huh, O'Neill?"_ Gibbs thought. Sam indeed had a big role in the report, both in some combat situations and in a scientific capacity, concerning something called 'naquada'. _"Double crap!"_

"McGee, I'll be in MTAC. You find out what you can about Castleman and O'Neill, and really dig! Just make sure you don't trigger their alerts this time!"

Gibbs was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. With Vance for his diplomatic crap, with Major Castleman and the entire Air Force for their stone-walling and with the bald Major General he knew from the Pentagon party a while back.

"…so you understand Director, this is a matter of national security and we'll be taking over the investigation"

Gibbs butted in before Vance had the chance to agree.

"Sir, with all due respect, we already read those reports, and we have a dead marine down in Autopsy. You might as well read us in, at least that way we won't be able to talk about any of this"

"Gibbs!" Vance's eyes bulged.

"I would advise against that, Agent Gibbs, I'm sure you are aware of the consequences" the general paused for a few moments "However, considering you were almost brought into the program once, I'll see what I can do. Tell your team to stop searching my people's files, though. Right now, agent Gibbs"

"Yes sir"

O'Neill's face was up on the plasma when Gibbs finally exited MTAC. _"Abby would like him"_ he thought ruefully _"and so does Sam"_. Sam – they had met only three or four times in the past year, and not for a couple of months, both of them having very busy schedules. They talked on the phone and e-mailed sometimes but it wasn't exactly the same. He missed her as a friend and, well, he missed their other activities. "No wonder I'm so cranky…" he thought. And now this case which was likely to complicate things further.

Downstairs, Ziva was eyeing the colonel's photo with admiration, and Gibbs was surprised and almost scared to realize he felt a pang of jealousy. He apparently didn't have any problems with his lover carrying a torch for the man, but he was getting annoyed that his co-worker did? _"Better to not go there, Jethro"_ he thought, moving from his spot above the squad-room.

"Stop the search and tell me what you've got so far. And by the way, you triggered the alerts again, McGee"

"What? How…"

"Don't care. So?"

"Not much about Major Castleman. He did a tour in Iraq a while back in a search-and-rescue unit, he was assigned to Cheyenne Mountain as a captain five years ago, promoted to major a year later, no spots on his record. He was apparently injured several times in the last years, all listed as training accidents, has a wife and two sons"

"What about O'Neill?"

"Well, his record is definitely thicker, but most of it is un-accessible. A pilot, multiple tours in Iraq, activity in South America, East Germany and some other places – lots of blacked-out info here; his plane was shot down once in Iraq and he had to crawl to the Kuwait border by himself, with several broken bones. Took him nine days" Tony gasped, and with the corner of his eye Gibbs could see Ziva's eyes widen. He had to admit he was also impressed. "There's more. He was apparently left behind on some op gone bad and he was taken prisoner by the Iraqis. He was held for four months and it took another four until he was able to get back to active duty"

"Jesus…"

"Yeah"

"Special ops, boss?"

"Towards the black-ish side, DiNozzo"

"He and his wife got divorced after his only son shot himself with his service weapon. He never remarried" Gibbs couldn't help the shudder. How the man recovered from that, he couldn't grasp. Or maybe he didn't recover.

McGee continued. "Shortly after he was sent in an unknown location by a general West, on what appears to have been a suicide mission"

"No wonder…" Tony murmured under his breath.

"However, he came back and resigned from the Air Force, was recalled a year later by a General George Hammond at Cheyenne Mountain. Since then, he's been working in something called Deep Space Radar Telemetry, is the team leader for a unit called SG-1 – I have no idea what that stands for- and is also Hammond's second-in-command. Lots of medals and commendations, including some directly from the President. Lots of injuries also, again 'training accidents'. They're either really clumsy there, or…"

"Deep Space whatever sounds like bull. Not even the Air Force would waste someone like that on a desk job"

"Ya think, DiNozzo?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Stargate Command

"OK people, here's the situation" General Hammond just exited his office after what seemed like a prolonged conversation on the red phone.

"Lieutenant Kent from SG-5 was killed this morning in a hit-and-run in Washington DC. Not much else is known yet – not if it was an accident or a murder. The case was taken by NCIS Washington, specifically their Major Case Response Team, lead by Special Agent Gibbs"

Colonel O'Neill heard Carter's gasp before Hammond went on.

"Some of you are probably familiar with him, or at least his file. We were going to enlist his participation last year in the Adrian Conrad investigation. Anyway, he wouldn't give up the case or the body; he wants to be read into the program. We could of course take him off the case, but that would cause some problems"

"What?" O'Neill couldn't help it. "Why would we read him in for a hit-and-run? How does he know about the program anyway?"

"There's the catch, Colonel. Lieutenant Kent was carrying a memory card with copies of your and Major Castleman's reports from the P3X-535 mission. Gibbs and his team read them"

"Crap…" he muttered under his breath. "Well, we could still tell them the terms were codes for something and give them the national security classified speech"

"We could, but these are not your average cops, Jack. They are trained federal agents, the best investigating team NCIS had in years. They won't just buy anything we give them. And it gets worse. One of the members of the team, Ziva David, is a Mossad liaison officer. Her father is the Director of Mossad"

O'Neill's forehead hit the table in front of him. "This is a mess. So what do we do then? We can't read them in! Carter, what do you think?" he noticed his 2IC was suspiciously quiet.

"I… I don't think I should participate in this. I have… kind of a personal connection with one of the parties involved here"

Jack raised his head from the table, noticing her furious blush, Teal'c's raised eyebrows and Daniel's confused frown.

"What are you talking about Carter? Kent?" from her reaction, he could expect anything. He ignored the stab of hurt at the thought she could risk being with someone else at the SGC but not him.

"God no, sir, how can you think… No, it's… Agent Gibbs and I are… friends for a while now"

"Friends, Major?" Hammond wanted things out in the open.

"Close friends, General" she clarified, trying hard not to look at Colonel O'Neill.

"I see. I don't think that will a problem, Major, unless you think so…?" the general waited until she shook her head. "OK then, here is how this will go down. SG-1, you go to Washington to handle the investigation. Read Gibbs in, and Director Vance also, but anything you show them is eyes-only. The President agreed to this, Jack" he added, as the colonel opened his mouth to argue. "His team is another matter. Maybe agents DiNozzo and McGee could get clearance, but it would be difficult and an unnecessary risk. No way Officer David could, though, so Gibbs will have to do this without disclosing much to his team. From what I know, he can handle them. Find out who killed Kent, what was he doing with those reports and if anything else leaked. Questions?"

"No, sir"

"Fine. Good luck and God speed, SG-1"

NCIS, Washington DC

Tony gaped at the four people entering the squad-room like they owned the place. He of course recognized Major Carter and quickly identified Colonel O'Neill from his file, both of them in class A Air Force blues. The large black man with a beanie and the younger one with glasses he didn't know; they weren't in uniform but still had a military bearing, especially 'Beanie'._ "O'Neill's team"_ he thought. So Gibbs was right about someone pulling the plug on their investigation. On second thought, Gibbs was always right, he mussed. Ziva got up from her desk before he or McGee could make a move.

"Major Carter, nice to see you again" she didn't look so pleased though.

"Officer David" Sam's smile was a bit forced in Tony's opinion. "Nice to see you too. Director Vance is expecting us". _"No small talk, huh?"_

Gibbs appeared at the top of the stairs right on cue. "This way". He waited for them to reach him. "Colonel, Major" he softened the official greeting with a smile in her direction and couldn't help but notice the obvious appraisal O'Neill was giving him. He nodded to the other two men he didn't know. "Come in, the Director is expecting us"

"Director Vance, I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, USAF; I'll soon introduce the rest of my team. We need a secure location". The colonel was not one for small talk either, apparently. He should get along just fine with Gibbs, Vance thought, biting back his grin.

"My office not secure enough?"

"Not for this"

"Fine, MTAC then". They made their way over, at least three heads following them from downstairs.

"Clear the room people" Vance had to admit he was more then intrigued by all of this, SecNav's call earlier only contributing to that.

"Okay, we have the room secured. Now, what is this all about?"

O'Neill passed them the non-disclosure agreements and waited until they were signed before continuing.

"Let me introduce my team first. This is Major Doctor Samantha Carter," his eyes strayed towards Gibbs, who just smiled "this is Teal'c and this is Doctor Daniel Jackson"

Gibbs' smile disappeared. "Doctor Jackson? I thought you…, well, died!"

The younger man shrugged. "Yeah, it's a long story. I kind of did, but…not really"

"What?"

"Not now, Gibbs!" Vance interrupted, before this degenerated in a long explanation. "Colonel?"

"I think Daniel could explain things better. Danny?" then he thought better. "The short version, please."

"Yeah, all right. Well, an alien device was discovered in 1928 on a dig in Giza, Egypt, which we later called a Stargate. Nobody figured out how it really worked until recently, more specifically about six years ago. Since then we have been traveling to other planets, by means of this device, seeking allies and technology to defend Earth"

The following silence was almost oppressing. Gibbs was again the first to snap out of it.

"What the hell are you talking about? What is this crap you're trying to sell?" he threw his arms sideways, more than annoyed.

"No crap, Agent Gibbs. This is what we've been doing for the last six years"

"Defending Earth? Against what?" he still didn't believe a word he heard.

"Well, we did manage to piss some people, uh, persons, beings…off"

Vance got his voice back. "You mean to tell us that the Air Force has been fighting _aliens_ for the past six years?"

"Not only the Air Force, but yes"

Gibbs was glad his team wasn't there. After all, he had a reputation to maintain and right now he was starring at these people, _at his lover, for heaven's sake_, more shocked and amazed then he's ever been in his life. He took some solace in the fact that Vance didn't look any better himself.

He tried to gather his wits. "So, P3X-535 is…what?"

O'Neill sighted. "That's how we designate planets. God forbid we would use something, I don't know, that makes sense"

Gibbs didn't miss Sam's fond smile before she answered. "Sir, you know the computer generates the designations according to…"

"Yeah, Carter, I know" the colonel interrupted before she could complete the explanation. Gibbs had the feeling this was a recurring topic among them.

"And the other things in the reports? 'SG' teams, 'naquada'…"

Sam took over. "The command is called SGC, which stands for Stargate Command. There are currently 25 teams, usually consisting of four people each, who travel through the Stargate, by means of a wormhole. The teams have different responsibilities, some more then one – research, exploration, scientific, diplomatic, search and rescue. The Marines teams have protection and strategic roles. We are SG-1, and Lieutenant Kent was a member of SG-5, that's one of the Marines teams. Naquada is an element not found on Earth, essential for weapons and power sources development. We were searching for what appeared to be a rather large deposit when we were ambushed. That's what the reports describe"

"I take it the Goa'uld and Jaffa are the enemy?"

"The Goa'uld definitely. The Jaffa are slaves, their physiology modified to make them depend on the Goa'uld to survive. In the recent years, many realized this and rebelled. Teal'c was the first and he inspired many others to follow his example"

"You are a Jaffa?" Gibbs again had trouble accepting things.

The large man who was silent until now bowed his head. "I am indeed" he removed his beanie showing the golden emblem tattooed on his forehead. _"Abby would have a field day"_ Gibbs thought.

"I was First Prime to the Goa'uld Apophis and done many deeds I am not proud of on his behalf, until I have met O'Neill. I have been fighting since then to free my brothers from the false gods. I am forever in his debt for opening my eyes"

"No debt Teal'c buddy" O'Neill clapped his shoulder. "You saved our lives then and many times since"

Vance cut the display short, apparently having recovered a bit. "So, how do you want to do this?"

"We lead the investigation, for obvious reasons. However…" O'Neill turned towards Gibbs who was ready to protest, aliens or no aliens this was still his investigation. "however, we could use your help. Your team can not know any of this, though. You think you can handle that?"

"You wanna keep them in the dark? I trust them with my life, none of them would betray me or this country" Gibbs was getting angry, who do they think they are to just dismiss his people like that?

O'Neill wanted to hate this guy and respond in kind, but found that he understood his position. "Believe me, I do know how you feel. No team leader wants to lie to his people, it's one of the hardest things and not everyone understands the necessity" he threw a glance towards his own team, Sam and Doctor Jackson lowering their eyes. _'So he does know'_.

"But you must understand this is not something we can just share freely, especially to a Mossad officer" he stopped Gibbs before he could argue "I know you trust her completely, and I'm sure that's justified, but she also has a duty to her country and agency. Do you really want to put her in that position?"

'_He does have a point'_, Gibbs thought. "So what do we tell them? I can't just shut them out"

"That won't be necessary. We'll explain the terms in the reports are codes, that it involves classified technology and leave it at that"

"Fine" Gibbs realized he didn't have much leverage here. "Let's go see what they have so far"


	5. Chapter 5

**Note**** 1:** Thank you so much for the reviews! This strayed quite a bit from what I originally intended, but, honestly, it's fun to write. If it's also fun to read I'm really glad!

Sorry if I'm neglecting some of the characters, but there are too many and some of them I don't really know how to write…

**N****ote 2**: I tried to insert some kind of separators in this chapter, I'm not sure if they'll show or how they'll look once I'll post the chapter. So, sorry if some strange markings will appear, or if they won't appear at all.

Chapter 5

Three pairs of eyes followed the odd group of Air Force officers, agents and civilians as they exited MTAC.

"What do you think they were discussing in there?"

"What do you think, Zee-vah? Or haven't you seen the Air Force logo on those oh-so-classified reports?" Tony had a bad feeling about this.

"Then why have we not been called also?"

Any response was prevented by the arrival of the rather large group, Vance included.

"Because this is all need-to-know, and you don't" he supplied.

„So, what, you're just gonna push us aside? We do have pretty high clearance you know" Tony was looking straight at O'Neill.

Just as Vance opened his mouth to retort he was stopped by the colonel raising his hand. „It's fine Director". He turned to the agents. „You do have high clearance, and that is why we can tell you as much as we will. Carter?"

She took over, her voice low, looking them straight in the eyes.

„You are probably wondering about the terms you encountered in those reports..." she seemed hesitant, like she was about to reveal some big secrets.

O'Neill intervened „By the way, forget you ever saw those, and of course we'll need any copies or backups you made". Gibbs just nodded.

Sam went on „This is all highly classified, and any disclosure on your part would not only constitute an act of treason but would also endanger the lives of the people involved" she waited a few moments to let them absorb the implications. „P3X-535 is a coded designation for a place where we're not really supposed to be in, so using the name the locals do wouldn't be a good idea. We went there to retrieve something, more specifically a metal alloy we developed and which was stolen; it is something that, once completed, would make a significant difference. However, it's far from complete now. Since its development isn't public knowledge we had to employ more covert means to retrieve it. The other terms you're probably wondering about refer to various factions of the individuals involved in the stealing".

"What about 'dialing the gate' and 'IDC' code? What does that refer to?" McGee made his presence felt.

"Calling our transport to pick us up, while also transmitting a code to let the base know we were under fire". She didn't even blink an eye, Gibbs thought, none of them did. And no big complicated lies, just a distorted version of the truth. _"Man they're good"_

McGee didn't look quite convinced. It was Tony however who wondered "It seems, I don't know, like over-kill to use all these codes when the reports were already classified. Did you expect someone to take them, or what?"

Gibbs had to admit he was proud of his senior agent for not taking things just as they were offered.

"Having the alloy stolen wasn't exactly somebody's proudest moment. We were instructed to make the reports readable only to a chosen few" O'Neill supplied.

"Oh" that seemed to satisfy them for now.

Ziva was suspiciously quiet, Gibbs noticed, and starring straight at him. _"Busted"_ he thought. These people were very good at concealing the truth, but then so was Ziva. He sighted; he'll deal with her later. For now, they had a case to solve.

"OK, back to work. What do you have?" Gibbs couldn't miss Ziva's frown, she definitely felt something was 'hinky'. Apparently Sam caught it too and threw him a worried look, which only served to deepen Ziva's scowl. _"Oh crap, this is not over by far"_

DiNozzo fortunately missed the silent exchange. "We matched the partial number the witnesses gave us with cars with that make and model, came up with three vehicles. One was reported stolen by the owner, hours before the accident. Police sent us the report, nothing off there"

"DiNozzo, Ziva, go talk to the owner"

"Daniel, you go with them". So, they were going to watch their every move, Ziva thought, muttering an elaborate curse in Hebrew as they entered the elevator.

"You should wash your mouth with soap, Officer David" Daniel smiled.

….

"McGee, the phone?"

"Not much, boss. The number Lieutenant Kent called was for an untraceable phone; it hasn't been used since Kent's death. I'll keep looking for it though – if it activates, I should be able to locate it. I sent the phone down to Abby, she's looking for fingerprints"

"Fine, keep trying for that other phone. On second thought, take S… Major Carter to Abby and see if she's got anything. We'll go see Ducky"

….

"I have nothing for you yet, Gibbs!" the forensic scientist yelled to cover the loud music, not turning to see who opened the door.

"Not Gibbs, Abby" McGee turned the music down to a bearable level.

"Ooh, you have company, Timmy! Who is she?"

Sam had heard enough about the Goth scientist from Gibbs as not to be surprised.

"Hi Abby, I'm Sam"

"_The_ Sam? The Major Doctor Sam, Gibbs' Sam? You sure are pretty!" she was bouncing around, all excitement and wide eyes.

"Uh, yeah. Heard a lot about you, Abby" she smiled, feeling the blush spread as she noticed the opened link to Autopsy, her CO's grinning face on the monitor.

"Well, when you two girls are finished complimenting each other, maybe you could tell us if you found anything?"

"And who is this silver fox?" Abby waltzed towards the monitor, smiling widely "Gibbs, you're there? Do all of you ex-special ops guys look so…yummy?"

Sam turned her back to the monitor, shoulders shaking with restrained laughter.

"Abby! What do you have?" Gibbs yelled from the background.

"Nothing, Gibbs, I have nothing! I mean, not nothing, just not much, that depends how you define 'nothing'…"

"Abby!"

"Gibbs?" his face appeared on the monitor, glaring. Sam had a very vivid flashback of many similar discussions between the colonel and Daniel.

"Yeah, right. So, I found a partial fingerprint on the phone's battery. I mean, except for Lieutenant Kent's prints, they are all over the phone"

Gibbs sigh could be clearly heard. "But, Abbs?"

"But I can't match it with anything. I searched all the databases I could think of, no matches. Ergo, nothing!"

Sam intervened, looking at the monitor. "Sir…?"

O'Neill's face came back on. "Yeah, go ahead Carter. Just stay there"

"What?" both Abby and Gibbs wanted to know.

"She'll try our database also. It could…produce more results"

….

Gibbs and O'Neill turned back to the medical examiner, who was regaling Teal'c with anecdotes concerning the risks of not understanding cultural differences.

"O'Neill, DoctorMallard is most entertaining. I believe he would get along very well with DanielJackson" Teal'c was sporting one of his largest smiles.

Ducky clapped his shoulder, pleased at the compliment. "See, Jethro, someone who appreciates my stories"

"We all do Ducky, we're just kind of pressed right now to solve the case" he hoped the subtlety was enough.

"Oh yes, my friend on the table. Well, nothing earth shattering, I'm afraid. Almost all his injuries are consistent with a car hitting him, the broken bones, the lacerations…"

"You said 'almost', Ducky. What else?"

"Well, there is this… burn on his leg. It's an older wound, nothing recent. But this round shape is most peculiar; I've never seen anything quite like that"

O'Neill exchanged a look with Teal'c. "Ah, it's all right doc, we have. It's from a training accident a while back, an …experimental weapon. Not related to this"

Ducky smiled knowingly. "Oh, one of those. No worries friends, my lips are sealed. I am familiar with all kinds of hush-hush government operations"

"Thank you Doctor Mallard. So, nothing we can use about the accident?"

"I'm afraid not. Abby analyzed the paint fragments recovered from the body; they're all consistent with what you already knew about the car"

"Thanks Duck. So, coffee?" Gibbs was already halfway to the elevator.

….

An hour later Tony marched back into the squad room with a shackled, banged-up teenage boy, a heavy, tired looking man trailing close behind.

"Boss, we've got the driver" Tony pointed to the scrawny teenager.

"Him? How?"

"This is his father. When he reported his car stolen he didn't realize it was his son who actually did the stealing. He went for a …joyride with his girlfriend, had a few beers, killed Lieutenant Kent, ran away. The girlfriend is in the hospital, she wasn't wearing the seatbelt. Ziva and Daniel are talking to her now. The hospital called his father, Mr. Arliss here, just as we were about to leave his place. The car's being towed here now"

O'Neill and Teal'c stood aside, listening.

"This sounds like something concerning … our problem to you, buddy?"

"I do not believe so, O'Neill. Even so, we should still speak with the boy, but, as you say, I would not pause my inhaling"

He already knew the answer. "Oh crap"

….

When Ziva and Daniel came back after talking to the girlfriend and the cops only McGee was still in the squad-room.

"Where's everybody?" Ziva was already getting antsy.

"Gibbs and Colonel O'Neill are in interrogation, Tony and Teal'c probably in observation and Major Carter with Abby. Ziva, what did…" She was already on her way to the elevator.

Daniel hung his head. He couldn't pretend to have figured the woman out in a couple of hours, but some things she didn't even try to hide. Like the fact that she didn't appreciate the constant company or that she felt her turf invaded. And Daniel had a strong feeling that 'invasion' concerned Gibbs personally more than the current case. _"What did Sam get involved into?"_

He answered Agent McGee's unfinished question "The cops and the girlfriend corroborate the kid's story. It really looks like an accident, which doesn't solve our problem with the reports"

"Yeah…"

….

Ziva stood in the observation room, Tony besides her and the big wrestler-type guy looming in the back. Not a moment without one of them, she thought, getting angrier by the minute. However, it was not Teal'c's presence that infuriated her, but the fact that no sound was coming from the interrogation room, where Gibbs and O'Neill were talking to the teenager and his father. The disappointment on the colonel's face was proof enough that the case was far from over.

"Why would they turn the sound off if they leveled with us, Tony?" she didn't care what the other man in the room heard.

He was thinking exactly the same thing "I have nooo idea…"

She stormed outside and waited for Gibbs to finish, pacing the hallway.

When the door to Interrogation finally opened and her boss stepped outside she pounced on him, completely ignoring everybody else.

"Why are you lying to us Gibbs? They have not told us the truth and you know that! You do not trust us, me, enough? You let them run this investigation when…" she didn't get the chance to finish her rant. Gibbs stepped forward, pushing her back against the wall with his body, hard enough that the air left her lungs for a moment. She didn't even notice when the others have left, leaving her with a more than angry Gibbs.

"You listen to me, Ziva" his voice barely controlled, muscles twitching in his jaw, hands on the wall on either side of her head. "You do _not_ get to question how I do my job, you hear me? You do _not_ get to question me, especially in the presence of others, ever again, you understand me Ziva?" She barely managed to nod a fraction, eyes wide and frightened. His presence was so dominating all her training just flew from her mind, leaving her weak-kneed and breathing hard. He didn't move, his body still pinning her to the wall, face just inches from hers, still angry. As his glare started to soften she became aware of the closeness between them, of the way his breath touched her face and her breasts were pressed against his hard chest. He leaned even closer, lips almost touching her ear "And did you even stop to think this is not a matter of trusting you, and that maybe I have no other choice but to follow their lead? Did you consider to maybe trust _me, _Ziver?" he pulled back a bit, his gaze jumping between her eyes and her lips. The urge to kiss her senseless was almost too strong to control, and he took a step back into the corridor. "Come on, we have work to do" his voice low and deep, sending shivers down her spine. She shakily pushed away from the wall and followed him to the squad-room.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After further research into the Arliss family, the girlfriend and the car turned up with nothing more, both teams concluded ruefully that the death of Lieutenant Kent had nothing to do with his stealing classified reports. So, further planning and investigating was in order.

"So, we know the lieutenant asked for a personal leave, stating he was going to visit his sick mother. However, his family lives nowhere near Washington DC and his mother isn't sick. His younger sister is apparently missing, she's supposed to be away for college but her parents haven't heard from her in more than a week and neither did her roommate" Tony summarized what the Air Force team supplied earlier. "He obviously came to deliver that memory card to someone here, who was possibly blackmailing him with holding his sister, and had previous contact with that someone using the phone. If we could just identify whose print it is…"

Right on cue, Sam finally came up from the forensic lab, Abby hot on her heels.

"Sir, we have a problem" she waved a piece of paper she was holding.

"You matched the print from the phone battery" Gibbs stated.

"She wouldn't tell me Gibbs, tell her to tell me, it was my computer who found the match, I clearly heard the beep but…"

"Abby!"

"I need to talk to Colonel O'Neill first" Sam was looking at Gibbs, pleading with her eyes for him to understand.

He did understand, especially in light of all the stuff they disclosed earlier, but still hated the position this put him in with his team. Ziva's outburst earlier proved the strain they were all under, and letting on that he didn't control the show was not the best course of action. He chose to make light of the situation. "Go, talk, confer, just remember we haven't had dinner yet… You can use my office" he pointed to the elevator.

Sam smiled as she left with the colonel and Daniel outright snickered.

"What?" Gibbs was confused

"I'm sorry, Agent Gibbs, you just sounded exactly like Jack there. The way you both use humor to… well, not important"

'_Thank God he stopped there. __Did he always put his foot in it or am I just that special?'_ Gibbs scowled. He didn't really need to hear how similar he was to O'Neill.

"O'Neill is a great warrior. He is at all times prepared to sacrifice himself for others, he is honorable, brave and loyal. I still do not understand his humor on occasion, but it is an honor to be compared to him. I sense many of those qualities in you, SpecialAgentGibbs" Teal'c bowed his head slightly. Gibbs was left gaping, no more than the rest of his team, though. "Thank you, Teal'c". He wasn't sure if the alien (Gibbs still couldn't get his head around that piece of knowledge) was clueless or really smart, but he had to admit the praise, however awkward it made him feel it also made him feel good. _'Well, how many Marines can say they heard that from an alien?'_

….

"Okay, Carter, what is it?"

The elevator was stopped between floors, giving them the privacy to speak freely.

"I matched the print from inside the phone in the NID database. It belongs to one of the businessmen we recently connected with the Trust, one of those who disappeared before we got to them" she showed him the printed paper.

"Do these guys never stop?" O'Neill rolled his eyes. He thought for a while. "Fine, so we pack up and head home. We'll try tracking him down from there"

"Sir, are you sure that is such a good idea? Abby knows we have a match, they won't let this go so easily. We can always include the Trust into the story we already told the agents. Plus, someone most likely has Kent's sister and we are not trained to investigate matters like this"

Her arguments were logical and convincing, but she was looking at him with those big blue eyes he loved so much and all he could picture was her with Gibbs, touching, laughing, kissing - everything he couldn't give her. The wave of anger took him off balance.

"You're sure that's the reason you wanna include them, or you just can't bring yourself to leave your friend yet?"

Sam felt like she was slapped and staggered backwards into the elevator wall. Of all the things he could have said he chose the one which hurt her the most, and he knew her well enough to realize that. In a single phrase he insulted her professionalism, her loyalty to the job and her personal integrity.

She opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out. To her horror, her eyes filled with tears she couldn't hold back. She didn't want to cry in front of him, of the man who humiliated her both as her CO and as the man she loved.

"Oh crap, I'm so sorry Carter" he made a move to touch her and she pulled back. "I didn't mean to…"

"You didn't mean to what, _Sir_?" she spat the word out. "Didn't mean to imply I would compromise the Program so I could get laid some more?" she realized she passed the border to insubordination but didn't care. Her voice broke "You of all people should know I don't let my personal feelings decide the way I do my job. You're the last person I ever thought I'll hear this from. How can you even think…"

His heart broke into a thousand pieces, the pain so real he couldn't breathe. "Please, Sam, I'm sorry…but I lied. I did mean to say what I did"

She was shocked beyond words now.

"I wanted to hurt you, I just… seeing you with him was… hard. I'm so sorry I was an ass. You deserve to be happy, and loved, and have a life that I…can't offer to you now. I wanted to hurt you but I don't really believe what I said. You believe that, don't you?"

She did. "God, Jack, why do we do this to each other?" He took a step forward, tugging her gently. She put her head on his chest, his arms squeezing her almost desperately, hearing his loud heartbeat under her ear. Minutes passed until they heard Daniel's voice from above "Hey guys, you're OK in there?" "_Oh, Daniel and his impeccable timing"_

Jack moved back, caressing her face with just the tip of his fingers, eyes speaking volumes. "Yeah, Danny, on our way"

"So, they're in then. You explain the Trust, we'll see how things go, Carter"

"Yes sir"

….

"'You allright?" Gibbs visually inspected her as she exited the elevator, ready to take O'Neill on if necessary. He wasn't sure of what the result would be, he'd seen his file after all, but he would still try. The man in question seemed pleased at his concern and inquiry. '_Hm'_

Sam smiled a bit shakily, but she looked fine.

"Okay, so, here's the deal. The whole deal" she looked at Gibbs "I identified the print, it belongs to a Ralph Bitner, who is a former…acquaintance of ours. Not long ago we identified an international organization of businessmen set on acquiring classified technology by any means necessary and sell it to the highest bidder. They call themselves the Trust. We managed to dismantle the organization, or so we thought, and arrest most of its members as a result of an undercover operation. Some members who were not present at that moment escaped though. Bitner is one of them. Obviously, he wanted to get his hands on our reports so he can get the alloy I mentioned earlier himself. We're not sure of his resources and man-power, but expect them to be extensive"

"Tony, Ziva, find out what you can about this guy. McGee, keep trying that phone" Gibbs stood from his desk.

"Sam, you wanna grab a coffee?" right now he didn't care what feathers he ruffled, he needed to talk to her. She stood and followed him outside_. "Interesting that he thought to take the stairs and not the elevator"_ she thought _"Maybe there's truth in the Gibbs-knows-all legend"_

Out in the yard he put an arm around her shoulders and she was glad to snuggle up to him. He always made her feel safe.

"So, talk to me, Sam"

She wondered for a while what he would want to know first. She knew when he turned to look at her. "I'm OK Jethro, really. We had a bit of a… discussion in there, but nothing I can't handle. This case, us working together, it's difficult for many"

He definitely agreed to that "Yes it is" She smiled up at him. "You had your own 'discussion', huh?" "Oh yeah…Sam, we'll probably need to talk about this when the case is over"

"I know" she brought his head down and kissed him lightly. "Now, to get back on the case. What I said about the Trust is true, except for the fact that it is alien technology they're after. You probably figured that out" he nodded. "So when we find this guy and his associates and go after them you can't bring your team in. We don't know what kind of weapons they'll have, what your people might see. Plus it's not right, you can't throw them into something this big blindfolded and armed with pistols"

"I agree. I had no intention of bringing them. Won't be easy, though"

"I know. They'll probably hate you for a while, some in particular, but it's better than having them hurt or worse"

"Yeah. Count me in, in any case"

"Jethro…"

"Don't, Sam"

"Right, figured you're stubborn as hell"

They started on their way back to the office when both their phones rang at the same time.

"They found him"


	7. Chapter 7

**Note**: Thank you Zivacentric and iyimgrace for you wonderful reviews! Again they made my day!

All I could manage now was a shorter chapter, but I'll post it anyway. Things got a little busy (both in real life and in the story…)

Chapter 7

"What've you got?" Gibbs stormed into the squad-room, Sam right behind him.

"The phone is active, boss. Here" McGee pointed to the green cross visible on the plasma screen "And it's moving at a rather slow pace"

"However" Ziva took over "we have no way on knowing if it is actually Bitner using it"

"Well, not from here anyway" Gibbs turned to the colonel "He doesn't know us, we'll go check if it's him"

"Fine. Carter, give them the photo. Just stay low; if he gets spooked he'll never lead us to his hiding place"

"Right. Ziva, grab your gear, you're with me. DiNozzo, McGee, see what you can find about the sister's disappearance. If these people know Kent is dead, and we can safely assume they do, they have no reason to keep her alive. That's our priority now"

"We'll keep looking into Bitner, see if anything pops out" Sam suggested.

"Good. Get Abby to help. Ziva, get the car" Gibbs threw her the keys as he headed for the elevator.

….

Countless phone calls and a fast-food dinner later, things didn't look too promising. Gibbs' scowl as he and Ziva entered the squad-room said it all, in fact. She summarized the last hour and a half, although she was pretty sure everyone knew the facts by now "So, it was a homeless man using the phone, he said someone gave it to him, no doubt to throw us off their track. He gave us a description of the man, but was too stoned to remember much. And Gibbs drove like a maniac". Gibbs just growled.

"What did you find?" he addressed no one in particular. Four people started speaking at the same time.

"Stop! DiNozzo?"

"We talked to the LEOs on campus, where Susie Kent went missing. They didn't bother to start any search until very recently because her roommate and another colleague stated she left willingly with a man; they all assumed she knew him. We got a sketch just now – here"

"Matches the description we have from the homeless guy" Ziva noticed.

"We gave it to Abby to search the databases, Doctor Jackson is helping her" McGee supplied.

"That's not enough! DiNozzo, call the roommate, see why she thought Susie knew the man she left with"

"Now, boss? It's the middle of the night in…" Tony swallowed the rest of the sentence, faced with a particularly nasty Gibbs-glare. "Yes boss"

O'Neill was impressed. If he could use that glare on Daniel sometimes, life would be so much simpler.

"OK, what else?"

Sam took the stage. "We've been looking some more into Bitner's history and his properties. He must have felt really threatened after we pulled the plug on the Trust; he transferred most of his assets to other people before he left, particularly a cousin, a Kenneth Wade"

McGee interrupted, something bothering him ever since he heard about Bitner evading capture. "Where did he go to after you shut them down? How come you, or the cops, never arrested him if he's involved in something this big?"

O'Neill face darkened, their failures not something he liked being reminded of. "Our best guess was he went somewhere…inaccessible to us. And in any case, he is, or at least was, a legit businessman - it's not like we could present any evidence of what he was involved into. But if he's back now, chances are more of his associates are also back. And we'll get them"

Gibbs wondered what the colonel meant by "get them". An arrest by NCIS or any other government agency meant paperwork, and he doubted these people were willing to leave a paper-trail behind. Well, one more reason not to have his team involved when the shit will hit the fan.

Sam went on. "Several houses, apartments, warehouses and factories formerly belonging to Bitner or his company are thus managed or even owned by this Kenneth Wade now. Some appear to have been sold to other companies, but they're most likely bogus sales, made to cover something. We looked more closely into these properties. One of the warehouses seems to have been unused until a couple of weeks ago, very small electricity bills and such. Satellite images show activity now and there's a lot of power usage. I think we should check it out"

"Boss, I have something" Tony put his phone down. He really hoped all the lovely wishes he got from people woken up in the middle on the night were not in vain. "Susie did know the man she left with, cops ID's him. He's been hanging out in the pub she frequented, busy wooing her. She called him 'Jerry', wasn't particularly interested, but… They lifted prints from a pair of sun-glasses he forgot in the pub. Lucky for us the bad guys can be idiots, right, boss? Anyway, his name is Jeremy Hanson, they don't have anything else on him yet"

"I'll look him up, boss" McGee was already inputting the name into his computer, Sam leaning over his shoulder. "Here, Jeremy Hanson, aged 31, some speeding tickets, nothing serious…"

Sam butted in "He's listed as the assistant manager to one of the bogus companies that bought properties form Bitner/Wade. Owns an apartment in New York and a house just outside Washington DC. The house is more isolated… what do you think?" looking at Gibbs.

"That's our best bet. Gear up"

"Wait a second" O'Neill hadn't moved from his spot but got his phone out. "Let me check"

"Walter, O'Neill here. Check the activity at a place at…" he gave the coordinates. "Right now, I'll hold" Then to Gibbs "10 more minutes won't make much of a difference, at least you'll know what you're up against". "Yeah, OK, thanks Walter" he hung up.

"OK, three people present at the moment, one's probably the girl, two vehicles. Should be a piece of cake"

"How on Earth did you get that so fast?" Tony was speechless.

O'Neill just shrugged. "We're just that good…"

Gibbs scowled. "Why are you not geared up yet? DiNozzo, you have the lead. Go get the girl"

"You're not coming boss?" McGee was confused. Ziva just threw him a long look.

Truth was Gibbs wasn't totally comfortable letting them go without him, but he wasn't going to let the Air Force complete his case without him, and taking down Bitner was still part of the case. Also, having his team away on another assignment when things started was a definite plus.

"I have something else to do. You'll manage"

"It is not us I'm worried about" Ziva muttered, grudgingly following Tony and McGee to the elevator.

…..

"So, about the warehouse" Gibbs didn't waste any time once his people were out the door.

O'Neill looked questioningly towards Sam. She shrugged "He wants in"

Gibbs felt his hackles rising at the colonel's appraising gaze. Fortunately, just as he opened his mouth to say something O'Neill beat him to it.

"Fine. You're a Marine sniper, right?" Gibbs nodded. "Glad to have you on board then"

He bit back a grin at the agent's raised eyebrows. "I did read your file, Gunny. I expected nothing less"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Colonel O'Neill paused for a few seconds before standing and continuing, hands in his pockets.

"However, Agent Gibbs, this is a military operation, as I'm sure you understand. Therefore I will be the one running the show. I need to know now if that will be a problem for you"

"No sir". Gibbs didn't need much time to answer that. He was confident in his abilities and knew he a was a very good lead agent, but even with all his military training he wasn't a strategist, and planning an assault was not his thing. The fact that he came to respect and even trust O'Neill in such a short time (Sam's previously expressed opinions of her CO probably contributed to that, he thought) made his answer even easier.

"Good. Here's how things stand. I spoke to General Hammond while you were away; he agreed that the warehouse Carter mentioned looks like our most likely bet. The SGC is keeping an eye, well, satellite, on it - there are fourteen people inside and around at the moment. We'll see it soon for ourselves in MTAC anyway. SGs 5 and 13 are already airborne, they'll be here shortly. You might want to let the people at the gates know about that. A Major Davis from the Pentagon is giving them a lift from the airport and he'll remain here to coordinate from MTAC. We'll be twelve, which is more than enough. Carter, you did tell Daniel and Abby to stop searching for that Jerry character, didn't you?"

"Yes sir"

"Then where is our resident archeologist?"

"Well, sir, last I heard they were discussing the symbolism of specific tattoos…"

"Ah" both O'Neill and Gibbs smirked.

…..

Capturing the two men guarding Susie Kent was indeed "a piece of cake", as O'Neill had put it.

The first one had his back to the door and his gun holstered, obviously expecting his partner to be the one entering. "All done?" "Yes you are" Tony dangled the handcuffs in front of his face.

Said partner was outside facing a tree, apparently answering nature's call. His hands were nowhere near his gun when he heard the click of the safety being lifted. Ziva just pursed her lips, eyes sweeping over the kidnapper and stopping at the same area his hands were. "It is rather cold outside, is it not?" she smiled sweetly before disarming and handcuffing him.

They found the girl in a decent shape, dirty and scared but not injured. Half an hour later she was on her way to the hospital to be checked up and the two unfortunate bad guys in the local police's custody.

"OK, what now?" Ziva was restless, balancing from one foot to the other.

"Now we go home, get some sleep…" Tony mock-sniffed his arm-pit "...take a shower"

"So what, we're just going to drop this?"

"There's nothing to drop, Ziva, we did our part. You heard the boss" McGee warned, albeit somehow half-heartedly.

"Yes, I have heard him. I have also heard Director Shepard saying something similar once. And look how good that turned out!"

"That's not fair Ziva!" Tony couldn't believe she would drag that up again.

"Life is not fair Tony. And neither is death. We cannot stay behind while Gibbs is out there, doing God knows what with those people"

"He can take care of himself quite aptly, Ziva, and besides, 'those people' are not some rookies. They seem to be pretty good at what they're doing"

"I don't care how good they are!" she almost yelled. "They do not care about Gibbs, none of them would put their lives on the line to save him. I… we would!"

Both men were silent. "Tony?" McGee turned to his partner.

"I don't know, Probie, this is something we should each decide for ourselves".

He looked at Ziva "I'll admit you do have a point. However, you do realize we could make things much worse by showing up in the middle of a fire-fight? Without our presence previously known?"

"We would not just jump in there Tony! We could…assess the situation from a relative distance first and take it from there"

"McGee, what do you say?" Tony was not convinced.

"I guess we could see how things look, from a relative distance, I mean"

Ziva threw her arms sideways "See, even McGee agrees. So, you're in or out, Tony?"

He couldn't believe he was going to go along with this, and didn't even want to think about his reasons. It was not because he was worried about Gibbs' safety, and not even because Ziva was kind of forcing his hand. No, it was strictly because going at the warehouse made sense, right?

"Let's go"

…..

Sixteen people stood in front of the large screen in MTAC, eight of them having just arrived.

"Director Vance, Agent Gibbs – Major Paul Davis, our Pentagon liaison, Colonel Dixon, SG-13, Major Castleman, SG-5 and their teams"

Vance greeted them and kept behind, aware he wasn't going to have an active role in this. Gibbs nodded to each of the men, noting the SG teams' full battle gear, complete with P90s, night-vision goggles and some strange shaped objects he assumed were weapons.

The warehouse was up on the screen, an infrared image on the right and what Gibbs assumed it was some sort of a thermal scan on the left, the people inside and around the building visible as reddish spots.

O'Neill looked focused, no more slouching posture and seemingly bored attitude. _"Getting into battle mode"_. They all looked different, Gibbs thought, Sam included, and he wasn't referring only to the black BDUs and gear. He also noticed how every person in the room, including the other colonel deferred to O'Neill, his role as the leader apparently implicit. He had already gone through the assault plan once, now summing up for clarity.

"The idea is to not let Bitner and whoever else is inside escape again. As you all know, last time they had a ship in orbit to pick them up. Now, as far as Carter's been able to determine there's no ship, but it might be well hidden. Or they could employ other means of getting away, they can be quite resourceful. So we have to take out the goons on the outside without those inside hearing or seeing a thing. That means not even zats, unless of course there's no other way. We do want these sons-of-bitches but not at the expense of safety. Agent Gibbs, you'll take position here" pointing to a slightly elevated area quite a distance away, to the left of the building "and take out as many as you can. It's the only proper spot for sniping, so the rest of them we'll have to take out by hand. Dixon, have SG-13 spread on the right side, advance towards the building when we've finished with those on the outside. See that no one can get through, don't leave blind spots. Castleman, same thing for SG-5, you take the left side; since there're only three of you SG-1 will spread a bit in your direction. We'll take the front; no entrances in the back, only these three – sides and front. Blow the locks, we go in all at once. Once inside, we'll have to move fast, not give them time to split or blow us up. Davis will be watching from here. Questions? Okay, helo's waiting. Move out!"

…..

The flight went smoothly, the camaraderie and light banter between the Air Force and Marine teams refreshing, Gibbs thought. The members of SG-5 were keeping more to themselves, having just lost a team member obviously weighing on them, although he heard Lieutenant Kent had joined the team only about a month ago.

Gibbs was also clad in black now, carrying his own service weapon and one of those 'zat' things beside his carefully packed sniper's rifle. Sam joined him, dragging a box to sit on it.

"So I hear your people made the arrests and got the girl. That's a really good job"

"Yeah, they're really good agents" he sounded proud. "I spoke to Tony a while back, they were heading home"

"That's good, it's been a very long day. And it's not over yet"

Right on cue, the pilot announced they were landing, a good distance from the warehouse. He squeezed her hand, about the only outward sign of affection they could afford in this situation. "I'll be careful Jethro, no worries. See you later" she smiled at him and went to join her team, preparing to disembark.

…..

Gibbs laid face down on top of the ridge, a few small bushes covering him and making him invisible to everyone, like a silent but lethal ghost waiting to strike.

"In position" he announced quietly, waiting for the others to take their places and get this show going. This still felt frighteningly familiar to him, laying in waiting for his cue to shoot, the steady slow breathing, the unnatural calmness and unidirectional focus he learned to achieve right before that slight movement of his finger that would end another life.

His earphone came to life, the words short and low.

"This is SG-1 niner, we're in position. Dixon, Castleman?"

"Same here, SG-13 in place"

"SG-5 good to go sir"

"Two targets acquired, the rest not visible" Gibbs filled them in.

"We see one, we'll take him" Dixon announced.

"Fine. Castleman?"

"None here"

O'Neill signaled to Teal'c towards the two guards in front of them. They had to coordinate their attack to the second so no one had enough time to make a noise.

"Hold…Go!"

He stood abruptly from his cover behind the bushes, reaching his target in seconds. With the corner of his eyes he saw another go down to his left, probably Gibbs' first mark. Less than 20 seconds since the order was issued, no guards remained on the outside of the warehouse.

"Davis?"

"Nine inside, no one else sir"

"Good. Move forward"

"Wait, colonel" Davis' urgent voice came back in the earphones.

"What?"

"You have three bogeys about 200 yards behind you, just showed up on the screen. What the… Something's wrong with the image, all life signs are fading… shit! Sorry sir, we just lost transmission from the thermal scanner"

"What do you mean Davis? What the hell happened? Is this connected to our three new additions?"

"I don't think so sir. Some sort of jamming device seems to have been activated from inside the warehouse"

"Crap! They made us, and we're blind. Castleman, have SG-5 go back and take care of the bogeys. Gibbs, you cover the left entrance from there, nobody leaves. Got it?"

"Yes sir"

"Got it O'Neill"

"Move in now!"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Three people crept along the tree line, tension almost palpable in the air.

"Are you sure this is the place McGee?"

"Yes Ziva, I'm sure. I got a good look at the coordinates, this is where the GPS brought us. It must be here"

"'Must be' Probie, 'must be'? We've been walking for two miles, and I have to tell you I don't see any warehouse. Why we couldn't have brought the car closer, I'll never understand"

"We couldn't have exactly driven straight in there, Tony. We mustn't be seen, remember? And stop whining!" It was the third time in half an hour that specific argument ensued, and McGee was getting tired of it.

Ziva raised her hand all of the sudden, frozen in place. "Shh. I hear something…a car is approaching. Go!" she pointed to the tree line.

Crouched behind the thick bushes, the three agents could clearly see a set of headlights slowing down as they were nearing their position. _"They couldn't have made us, could they?"_ Tony pondered, hand tight on his weapon, any thought of his expensive suit soaking up the forest mud completely extinguished by now. The car came to a complete stop just a few yards further down the road, lights turned off. Nothing happened for a few moments, then both front doors opened and two men descended.

"You're sure that was a chopper you've heard?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Heard it 'bout an hour ago further down the valley, came this way; very smooth bird, I'm guessing military. Add the fact that they got to Jer's place earlier…"

"Come on man, that was the Navy cops. Doesn't mean anything"

"Could be, which is why I'm not crying 'wolf' again till we find the damn thing ourselves. Come on, the only landing spot for miles except for ours is just behind this stretch of forest"

"Where're Kev and the Miles brothers? I thought they were with you"

"They took the west trail, on foot. We'll meet up in the clearing, see if the bird's there"

With the corner of his eye Tony could see Ziva's fingers slowly caressing the handle of her knife. He lightly touched her arm and shook his head – they needed to see where those two were heading and find the other three goons.

The walk through the forest was long and difficult. The agents had to keep a sufficient distance so the two men wouldn't hear anything, at the same time without loosing sight of them.

A large opening in the trees right in front of them presented an unwanted sight. A big black military helicopter lay in the middle of the clearing, doors opened, two bodies haphazardly thrown in the thick grass, blood splatters on the windshield. Three men emerged from behind the aircraft.

"I see you got here first"

"Yeah, took care of things for you man! Seems you weren't loosing it when you said you heard a chopper"

"What happened?"

"Well, these military types are always difficult. They wouldn't give up their flight, so we just took it" one of the figures supplied, amusement in his voice.

"Called 'home' to let them know?"

"Yeah, they're setting up the jamming gizmo, preparing to welcome the esteemed guests"

"_Fuck"_ Tony thought _"this is so not good"_

Apparently he wasn't the only one with that thought, as Ziva was already back-tracking through the forest, trying to put some distance between herself and the goons before making a call.

McGee touched his shoulder, drawing his attention back to the scene in front of them.

"You realize we can't just fly this thing out of here, and even if we could there's no way we could ever use it… They'd track us down anywhere"

'Kev' just snickered. "I wasn't thinking of flying it. I was thinking more along the lines of booby-trapping the doors, so if they manage to leave the warehouse alive and try to get inside… boom!"

"You have what it takes?" the others didn't seem to need much time to agree.

"Already done, figured you'd agree. You just have to close the doors and it's set"

"Good. Place the bodies inside so nothing will seem out of place"

Tony was frantically thinking about the best course of action. They could try to take the men down, but they were vastly outnumbered and outgunned. Their service weapons were most definitely no match for the automatic weapons he saw the men carrying. Plus, Ziva was nowhere to be seen, and he figured she managed to place the call. Both he and McGee were still crouching behind the bushes when they heard the slam of at least one of the helicopter's doors being shut. And then all hell broke loose.

Some sort of blue electric arcs sprang from behind the trees in front of them, effectively knocking down three of the bad guys. The other two reached for their weapons and started firing randomly in the direction the attack came from. Both Tony and McGee grabbed their guns in a flash, intent on finishing them off if possible. They never had the chance to fire a single shot though before another blue arc enveloped them. In an instant Tony felt all of his muscles contracting, his body arching off the forest floor, the pain tearing at every bit of flesh and cutting of his breath. The blackness was almost a blessing for him.

….

Three minutes after the jamming device was activated SG teams 1 and 13 stormed the warehouse and four more minutes later everyone originally inside it was either dead or handcuffed. One tried to leave through the left entrance and never saw the sniper's bullet coming. With SG-13, Carter and Daniel still inside checking and packing the equipment they found, O'Neill finally had time to see to the other matter.

"Castleman, come in. Status?"

"Sir, got seven bogeys here, two are dead, the rest just zatted. Pilots are dead also, we didn't get the chance to check the helo yet"

"_Seven?"_ O'Neill thought _"we could've been sooo screwed"_

Castleman came back on-line, his voice small.

"Colonel, we kinda… screwed the pooch here a bit"

He had a bad feeling about this. "Meaning, Major?"

"Two of the men we took down, they're, well, they're NCIS agents"

Gibbs was already on his feet and running down the hill, heart in his throat and stomach churning before he heard the next sentence.

"They're fine, just zatted, not dead"

O'Neill sighed. "At least there's that. It's all right Major, you couldn't have known. Just bring them back here, we'll see to the rest after"

Gibbs reached the warehouse just as SG-5 returned, carrying Tony and McGee, still out cold, three prisoners barely dragging their feet in front of them.

"What the hell were your people doing out there, Agent Gibbs? Do you realize the trouble they could have caused? Not to mention they could have very well be dead now!" O'Neill was beyond pissed.

"Yeah, they could have been, since your people seem to be the shoot-first-ask-questions-later type" Gibbs realized that was uncalled for as soon as the words left his mouth, but he'd been so scared when he heard they were shot.

"They weren't supposed to be there! SG-5 never even saw them before, how were they supposed to identify…"

Teal'c stepped between the two men. "O'Neill, AgentGibbs, this is not the time for arguing. AgentGibbs, your people came here on their own judgment, did they not?"

"Yeah, I certainly didn't ask them to show up"

"O'Neill, did we not also come to your aid on occasion even when you ordered us to leave?"

"Yeah, you did" he admitted grudgingly.

"If this matter is resolved, I will go back with Major Castleman and his team to retrieve the bodies"

Gibbs intervened "Wait a sec. Major, what about a woman? Was anybody else there?"

Castleman looked at his people, all shaking their heads. "No one else was there sir. We checked"

"_Where was she?"_ Gibbs thought. He couldn't believe DiNozzo and McGee would have managed to con her into staying at home, plus this appearance act felt like something she would pull. Well, he just had to wait for his two sleeping agents to wake up. Speaking of which… "Colonel, how come the prisoners are awake and mobile and they're still out cold?"

"Nothing to worry about. The first time is always worse when shot with a zat. After a while you, I don't know, get used to it, build some sort of a tolerance. Always hurts like hell, but you wake up sooner. I'm guessing the bad guys were shot before, plus from what I understood your people were shot from much closer. They'll be fine"

Right on cue, Tony began to stir. First feeling he experienced was surprise – he really didn't expect to ever wake up again after being …shot, electrocuted, whatever. Considering the circumstances, the mother of all headaches he felt was almost a blessing. Somewhere to his left he heard McGee's groan and fought to open his eyes. There was something he still couldn't see very clearly looming over him, something…Gibbs! Tony suddenly sat up, headache forgotten.

"Boss…"

"I don't want to hear anything DiNozzo". The fact that Gibbs appeared not only angry but also shook up, and the fact that he could identify how Gibbs felt with just a glance was a serious motive for concern in Tony's opinion.

"But boss, they shot me, us…"

"Not now Tony, we'll talk later". He was afraid of that. "You'll be fine. Tony, where's Ziva? She didn't come with you?"

He jumped up from his barely sitting position, his eyes frantically searching the people around them. The sudden panic left him gasping for air as everything came back to him. Ziva, helicopter, bomb.

"Ziva…she wasn't there when…she doesn't know…you have to stop her…"

Gibbs grabbed his shoulders and shook lightly, starring straight in his eyes. Or glaring.

His voice was low and very controlled "Get a grip, DiNozzo. Now, where is Ziva?"

Tony took a breath, his eyes focusing on his boss. "She was with us, went back a bit to try to call you, wasn't there when we got shot, she didn't hear when the bad guys said they booby-trapped the chopper. She's …if she tries to open the door…"

O'Neill was already shouting something into his mike when Gibbs started running in the direction he saw Teal'c leave earlier.

He fell to his knees, heart jumping into his throat and suffocating him as they all saw and heard the explosion coming from over the lines of trees.

**Note:** I know, I'm mean, but I couldn't help it. Also, no updates for about 4-5 days – I'm going away for a while. Sorry…


	10. Chapter 10

**Note:** Thanks again to Zivacentric, iyimgrace and everybody else reading my story! Just one more chapter after this one, I hope, this thing is kind of keeping me awake until I finish it!

_He fell to his knees, heart jumping into his throat and suffocating him as they all saw and heard the explosion coming from over the lines of trees. _

Chapter 10

The sudden and complete freeze Gibbs's mind and body went into unfortunately only lasted for a few seconds. He felt his heart squeeze with very real physical pain as his brain began to go into overdrive. Funny what things come to mind in moments like this, he thought. Or feelings. Memories of himself loosing it when they told him about Shannon and Kelly mixed with his daughter's laughing face, then Hernandez's blood on the windshield, Kate smiling at him just before the bullet went through her forehead, the long drive to that place in the desert where Jenny chose to die – yes, he could accept that now- mixed with the memory of his intense, visceral need to kill somebody, first Tony when he told him, then the people responsible, Ziva's face when he arrived... Then the images changed – Ziva in his basement when she shot her own brother, Ziva with Tony undercover in that hotel room, her picking locks, kicking some bad guy's ass, eating take-out Chinese at her desk, just Ziva - hundreds of images followed one another like a kaleidoscope turned on in his head. He's been through this before, through the desperation of loosing somebody he ... cared about _'You can't say it even now, can you, Jethro'. _

But every time he had something else to focus on, some_one_ else too to hold responsible besides himself, someone to hunt down, to capture, to kill. Now he had nothing. Everybody will tell him it wasn't his fault, that his apparently gung-ho agents made the decision to come all by themselves, but he knew better, he shouldn't have gotten involved in this, he should have let the Air Force take over, he should have known his team wasn't going to just stay back, he should have known.

It felt like hours, but only seconds passed before he shook his head and stood shakily. There were things to take care of, a case to wrap up, a body to identify… Didn't he tell Paula once he wouldn't stop to mourn until everything was finished?

He saw O'Neill standing beside him, darkened face and haunted eyes – probably reliving his own losses. He wanted to reach out to the agent, to comfort him in some way, but stopped himself. It wouldn't help at this stage, he knew that too well. Gibbs' voice was low and raspy when he managed to open his mouth. "I should… I should go to the scene, see what…"

O'Neill nodded. "I'm coming with you" he instinctively took point as they began to walk through the forest.

Just a few steps later he raised his arm, senses on alert. Gibbs should have heard it also, the slight crack of a small branch, if his mind would have been properly focused. They both stepped silently into the bushes, guns in hand. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand – some instincts never really went away- and turned rapidly, ready to fire.

A dark figure behind some trees raised its arms.

"Gibbs"

He felt dizzy, breath once again caught in his throat.

"Ziva"

She stepped forward, lowering her arms and holstering her gun.

"Gibbs, I didn't know what was going on here so…" she was now close enough to see his face properly. "What is it?"

He still had trouble finding his voice, afraid of what will come out if he opened his mouth. O'Neill beat him to it. "Officer David, we thought you were dead. We heard the explosion, knew you were unaware of the fact that the helo was rigged to blow…"

Understanding dawned on her face. "Oh…" She looked at her boss again, his expression raw and unguarded, revealing more than she ever saw him reveal.

"Gibbs, I am so sorry I…"

He groaned low in his throat and pulled her to him, one hand keeping her impossibly close to his body, the other holding the back of her neck. A few seconds passed before he could speak, words muffled in her hair. "Ziva, I thought…, oh God, Ziver"

She squeezed him back, face buried in his chest. "I'm OK Gibbs, I'm OK"

He let her go, suddenly aware of what he was doing and of the fact they were not alone. O'Neill was partially turned away, radio in hand, apparently oblivious. Gibbs didn't buy that.

"Teal'c, come in"

"O'Neill. The helicopter is completely destroyed. Only four bodies are here, no sign of a fifth"

"Yeah, I know. Officer David is here, she's fine. You can come back, I'll call for a cleaning crew and another chopper"

"Understood"

He put his radio away and turned to the two agents. "Gibbs, a word please"

'_Yeah, I knew this was coming'_ Gibbs thought. "Ziva, I imagine you saw where the others are. Go tell DiNozzo and McGee you're not dead. And stay there. We _will_ talk about the stunt you three pulled later, you can count on that"

She nodded and lowered her head. Now was certainly not the time to try to argue her case.

"I will deal with my people, Colonel, don't worry"

"I know you will. That's not it" O'Neill looked like he swallowed something sour, the tips of his boots apparently very interesting.

'_So, one of those talks…'_ Gibbs waited, not willing to help the man out.

"Look, Agent Gibbs. What you do in your own private life is certainly none of my business. But if it involves Carter's happiness or well-being it becomes my business"

'_Not oblivious indeed'_ Gibbs thought. "Your business as her CO, or…"

"As her CO and her _friend_, Gibbs. If you go behind her back, if you hurt her…"

"Come on O'Neill, give her some credit. She is very capable of taking care of herself" Gibbs couldn't help baiting the man a little.

O'Neill's eyes fixated on his own. No hesitation now.

"Yes she is, and don't you forget that. And I would, and do, put my life in her hands on a daily basis. But she also has a good heart and chooses to always see the good in people, thus leaving herself vulnerable to…getting hurt. I'll say it again, if you are taking advantage of that…"

Gibbs decided he riled O'Neill enough. And, to be honest, he was glad Sam had someone who cared about her enough to start a talk which obviously made him more than uncomfortable.

"Don't bother with the threats, O'Neill. I never would, or did, take advantage of her, nor would I ever go behind her back. I do care about her a lot, and she knows exactly where we stand. As for emotional commitment… we're both in similar situations, as you well know"

"I don't know what you're talking about" his face was set, muscles in his jaw twitching.

"Oh, come on! None of us are idiots, and don't pretend otherwise"

O'Neill's eyes lowered, not having the energy to argue anymore. "I just want her to be happy…"

Gibbs understood that. "I know you do. But you must know she'll never be really happy, not with me, not with somebody else, not until…"

"Don't!" he couldn't hear this now.

"Yeah… Let's just go back, they must be wondering what we're doing here"

…

Back at the warehouse the packing seemed to be finished, everything stuck in large boxes, away from prying eyes. The conclusion was that the explosion happened as the pilot's body slid sideways and the door's closing mechanism, already damaged from the gun fire, opened.

The three NCIS agents took everything that Gibbs launched at them silently, happy they still had their jobs. Ziva apparently saw Tony and McGee getting shot (the zat was explained as a classified electro-shock weapon) and couldn't be sure if the black-clad men were friends or foe, so she decided to hang back and follow them to the warehouse. Seeing Gibbs walking freely with O'Neill calmed her doubts, thus her appearance act in the forest.

By the time another helicopter arrived to pick them up the sun was already up. Gibbs couldn't remember the last time he felt so drained, both physically and emotionally. At least the case was finally over and he could have some time to figure things out, just him and his boat.

…..

It was again late evening by the time Sam appeared at the top of the stairs to Gibbs's basement. He emptied a jar similar to the one he was holding and poured her some bourbon. She smiled up at him as she took the drink and sat on a stool, swirling the liquid around.

"So, things turned out pretty well in the end, didn't they?" Sam searched for a way to start a conversation.

"Yeah, they did. You guys do this sort of thing often?" he still found it hard to imagine this was her daily life.

"Well, stuff doesn't often happen so much in our back yard, but other than that, yeah. Much worst sometimes. But it's worth it. Plus, you can't imagine the things I've seen…"

"You could tell me about 'things' some day. Or you can tell me now, Abby would die to know, what do you know about the crop circles and little green men?" Gibbs meant it as a joke.

She smiled, mischievously. "Well, sorry to disappoint, but the crop circles are bull, and the little green men are actually grey"

His face fell. "You're serious?"

"Quite. They are our most important allies, in fact"

"Geez, Sam"

"Yeah, I know". She turned serious "Jethro, I'm so sorry I wasn't there earlier, when you thought… when the chopper blew"

He shook his head. "It's okay, really. It was just minutes before it was cleared up. I was fine" his face said otherwise, though.

"Minutes can feel like hours, trust me, I know". He didn't deny that.

She went on "And I heard you had a…talk with Colonel O'Neill. Did he give you a hard time about your team showing up?"

'_So __he didn't tell her. Well, of course he didn't' _ "It wasn't about that, Sam" if O'Neill couldn't say anything, he certainly could.

"Oh?"

"It was about you". Her eyes widened. "He witnessed my reaction to Ziva's back-from-the-dead act. He was afraid I was … playing behind your back"

She was horrified. "Oh God Jethro, I'm so sorry…"

He stopped her. "No, don't be. I would have reacted the same way he did. He… really cares for you Sam"

She turned red and lowered her eyes. "He cares about all of us, the team, we're family"

Gibbs just snorted, but didn't continue. She did, though.

"Jethro, we're really good together, aren't we?"

'_Here it comes'_ he thought. "Yes we are"

"And you know I love you", he nodded "I'm just not…"

"in love with me" he filled in.

Her eyes jumped to his "Something like that, yeah. I'm …"

"Sam, stop saying you're sorry" he placed his hand on her cheek, caressing her with his thumb. "Truth is, I had the same speech planned, was just too chicken to spill it"

"You did? You were?"

"Yeah. But I do love you, you know that, right?"

She stood and hugged him, placing her head on his shoulder. "I know"

She stayed like that for a while, then giggled softly.

"Sam?"

"I hate to use such a cliché, but I hope we're still friends"

It was his turn to laugh before turning serious again. He lifted her head from his chest and looked her straight in the eyes "Always Sam".

She looked at him some more before reaching up and kissing him lightly on the lips "Mmmm…"

"Don't tempt me Sam, it's been a while, you know…"

"Oh yeah, how could I not" she swept her eyes over him slowly, leaving him all flustered. She took advantage of that. "So, Jethro, when are you going to go talk to her?"

"Wh… what, who?"

She gave him a disbelieving look "Oh, come on, Jethro. Who do you think?"

He paused, trying to gather his wits. "Sam, I can't"

"Yes you can. Believe me, I understand the need for rules and regulations. But still, I'm sure you can find a way, if you want it enough. And I think you do"

"You could take your own advice, you know"

Her eyes saddened "It's not the same. The Air Force regulations… "

"At least talk to him Sam. He's your CO, he'll never initiate something that could hurt your career, or you. The ball is kind of in your court"

She knew that was true, but still didn't know if she'll ever have the guts to actually tackle the subject instead of just skirting around it.

She changed the focus again "Jethro, you deserve some happiness. Just…try. Get it off your chest and take it from there. Maybe it'll work, maybe not, but at least you won't live knowing you never tried"

She left a couple of hours later with the promise to meet again soon. Knowing now what her job was like, he wasn't sure when or if that was going to happen. If he worried about her before, now things were gonna be a hundred times worse. There were in fact a lot of things he wasn't sure about.

He poured another glass of bourbon and tossed it down his throat. He didn't drink nearly enough to be intoxicated, but later he will probably still blame the alcohol for the fact that he found himself at one in the morning standing in front of Ziva's door, finger poised to knock.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Gibbs knocked softly, almost wishing she wouldn't hear anything. He could at least say he tried, or maybe he could try another time, when he didn't feel so vulnerable, most of his self-built walls torn down. No such luck, though. The first thing his eyes fell onto as Ziva opened the door were a pair of shapely, olive-skinned, naked legs. He almost didn't dare to move his eyes higher. Almost. Well, at least she had a pajama on, he thought, if you could call the thin cotton shorts and spaghetti-strap tank top that.

"Gibbs?"

Now he simply had to look up at her face. Sleepy eyes, tousled hair, raised eyebrows. _'Gorgeous. Crap!'_

"Can I come in?"

"Yes, of course" she stepped aside, allowing him to brush past her, not at all embarrassed by her attire. _'Why would she be, it's the middle of the night and she was sleeping, you moron'_

She rubbed the sleep away from her eyes. "What is it, Gibbs?" then she figured she was being rude "Can I get you anything, coffee, a drink?"

"Coffee is fine, thanks" at least that would give him a few more moments to think.

Gibbs was still pacing around her living-room when she brought the coffee, the smell and the warmth of the cup between his palms bringing a little comfort. He opened his mouth to deliver his speech and again he stopped. He hated speeches. _"Man up, Marine!"_

She was waiting patiently and a little apprehensive.

"Why, Ziva?"

Now she was totally confused. "Why what?"

"Why did you follow me last night?" he clarified, and would have missed the disappointment crossing over her face if he wouldn't have been watching closely.

She schooled her features into a mask. "You came here at one in the morning to talk about that again" he noticed it wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Just answer me Ziva"

She sighed "OK. We…no, _I _felt something wasn't right, I felt they, the Air Force, were holding back on us, I didn't want them to take over the investigation. I was the one who talked Tony and McGee into this. It's not their fault, it was _me_. I was stupid, and reckless, and put everyone at risk. Fine?"

Gibbs felt his heart sinking. "So it was just a matter of not allowing them to play in our back yard?"

She sensed something in his tone of voice, something that sounded a lot like sadness, or resignation. He was probably just disappointed in her judgment, she thought. "What else could it be?"

He didn't look at her. "Thank you for the coffee Ziva. See you tomorrow" he placed the still full cup on the counter and turned to leave.

"That's it? You came all the way here to ask me that?" she didn't understand, and had the nagging feeling she was missing something important "You asked the same question at the warehouse"

"And you gave me the same answer. Must be true, huh?" his smile was sad.

In an impulse, she blocked his path to the door. "What if I gave you a different answer Gibbs? What then?"

"That depends Ziva" he looked her straight in the eyes "How would I know which one is the truth?"

She took two steps forward, well into his personal space, ignoring his last question "I followed you last night because I didn't trust them to watch your back, because none of them would have traded their lives for yours, because they do not care about you, not the way I… we do" her eyes moistened and she stepped back.

"Ziver…" Gibbs reached for her, incapable of forming many words at the moment. She jerked away and turned her face. "No, don't! I don't need your pity! I have humiliated myself enough already"

"Pity? What the hell are you talking about?" he felt his hackles rising, who the hell could understand women?

"You came here to get your precious truth, now you have it. You can go back to _her_ now. I don't need you to feel sorry for me!"

"Yeah, I came here to _get_ the truth, and to _tell_ you the truth. What is this crap about pity and feeling sorry for you?" he realized he was almost shouting, and yelling at her was not why he came at her place. "Ziva?"

She tried to calm down, she didn't need to make an even bigger fool of herself; she took a deep breath "I put everybody at risk because of _feelings_. Because I … care about you. I'm sorry Gibbs, I don't want to put you in an awkward position, with the team or with Major Carter. I could ask for a transfer if you think it would be appropriate…" Ziva stopped mid-sentence, something he said just now registering. "What do you mean you wanted to _tell_ me the truth?"

'_Finally!'_ "What I meant, Ziva, is that I came here to tell you that Sam and I are no longer... seeing each other, at least not in _that_ way. And that is mainly because both of us realized something"

Her voice was small "What is that?"

"We realized that we were both in love with somebody else". There. He said it. Well, almost.

Ziva felt her heart swell up, hope washing over her in a hot liquid wave. She didn't dare ask The Question, though.

"You're gonna say something or just stand there?"

Logically, she knew he wouldn't have come at her place in the middle of the night to tell her he was in love with somebody else, but was still afraid to ask. She gathered every ounce of courage she had "Who?"

He advanced smoothly towards her, until they almost touched. His voice was even lower then usual, huskier, sending shivers down her spine.

"You really have to ask, Ziva?"

Then he decided he needed to just say it. He cupped her cheek with one of his hands and looked her straight in the eyes. "You, Ziva, I'm in love with you"

She felt like laughing and crying at the same time, the emotions so strong they left her shaking slightly. "You…are?"

"Yep"

She stepped even closer to him, pressing her body against him and her mouth to his. She moved her head slowly, not kissing him but caressing his lips with her own teasingly. Gibbs let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and sank a hand in her hair, pinning her in place and taking control. His mouth pressed stronger against hers, tongue demanding entrance. The kiss started slowly, sweetly, but soon escalated in a battle for dominance, all the pent up tension surfacing. She pulled back a bit after a while, needing to breathe, skin flushed and eyes even darker. "I think I'm in love with you too, Jethro"

"You think?" his hands were roaming over her back, still pulling her to him.

"Well, I don't want you to think I'm too easy" big smile on her face.

He snorted "Easy, huh?"

She went on "Yes, since you seem to be quite…hard" pushing her hips forward.

He groaned, face turning red. "You seem to have learned your English puns pretty well Ziver"

"Uh-uh…" she was kissing him again, a hand dipping lower.

He stopped her before his last shred of control was gone.

"Ziva, we do need to talk about things, work, this…uh" his words morphed into a moan as her fingers squeezed him lightly.

"We'll talk in the morning, yes?" rubbing him some more.

"Yeah…" he picked her up and headed for the bedroom before he decided to take her right there against her front door.

Epilogue

Maybe the year that followed wasn't all hearts and roses for Gibbs, their work and their tempers sometimes getting in the way, but if he drew a line he had to admit he was happier then he has been in a very long time. Since Shannon, actually. And so was Ziva.

He met Sam a couple of times and had a very hard time not spilling everything he thought about that cop boyfriend of hers. She was apparently still trying to convince herself she could be happy with somebody else, and that O'Neill was just her CO and a friend.

The most recent encounter was again at a Pentagon party he couldn't get out of. The similarities to the one more than a couple of years ago were obvious for everybody: still plenty of politicians with big bellies and expensively-clad wives, still lots of military brass and stars. The not-so-subtle differences were also obvious, though, at least to Gibbs's investigator eyes. First, some of the stars were on O'Neill's shoulders, another hush-hush position at the Pentagon taking him away from Stargate Command and, Gibbs thought, taking Sam away from his direct line of command. Then it was the fact that Ziva was standing much closer to him then she was the last time, and, if he was not mistaken, Sam was standing similarly close to her former CO.


End file.
